Must Be Confirmed By The U.S. Senate For The Post

The White House nominated aviation safety expert Bruce Landsberg to serve on the NTSB, citing his impressive track record on aircraft safety issues.

Landsberg is the former president of the AOPA Air Safety Institute, and currently serves as the senior safety adviser for the organization.

Landsberg, an award-winning expert on pilot safety, has written hundreds of articles on aviation safety and helped develop dozens of online courses. He also has worked with regulatory agencies and other aviation safety stakeholders, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) and the National Weather Service, as well as various industry groups including NBAA. A former U.S. Air Force officer, he has written a periodic "Safety Pilot" column in AOPA Pilot magazine, and a popular blog in AOPA ePilot.

The White House said it would nominate Landsberg for a five-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2018, and upon confirmation by the Senate he would be designated NTSB vice chairman for a term of two years.

“Bruce has demonstrated a passion for aviation safety through his long and successful career,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “His work with federal agencies, industry groups and other stakeholders makes him a perfect choice to serve on the NTSB. His impressive breadth of experience and no-nonsense approach to safety will be an important asset in the board’s work. We hope he wins quick Senate approval, and we look forward to working with him in his new role.”

Landsberg, who was born and raised in Maryland, holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in industrial technology from the University of Maryland. Before joining AOPA, he held management positions with Cessna and FlightSafety International. He has logged more than 6,000 hours of flight time and holds airline transport pilot, single-engine, multiengine and instrument flight instructor certificates. He has served as the industry co-chair of the FAA’s runway safety program and for the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee.

In 2010, he led a session on single pilot safety at NBAA’s annual convention in Atlanta, GA, using actual air traffic control tapes to reconstruct an accident involving a single pilot in a small business aircraft.

Last year, Landsberg participated in an NBAA session on aircraft-based meteorological observations, which focused on the availability and utility of aircraft-based weather observations.

The Senate recently approved another general aviation industry veteran Robert L. Sumwalt III to be the 14th chair of the NTSB. Sumwalt is a former member of NBAA’s Safety Committee who managed a flight department for a utility company in South Carolina before being appointed to the NTSB in August 2006. He is scheduled to speak at NBAA’s Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) on Oct. 10 in Las Vegas.

(Source: NBAA news release)

FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.nbaa.org